In April 2013 I will be competing in the Marathon des Sables (MdS).

The MdS is a six-day, 154 mile ultramarathon, which is the equivalent distance of six regular marathons, but run in the Sahara desert. Competitors have to carry all their food, clothing, sleeping and safety equipment for the week. The longest single stage is over 50 miles long and the route takes in dunes, mountains and varied desert conditions. It is run in the heat of the day when temperatures can reach over 50c. It is considered to be the toughest foot race on Earth.

As a former soldier I have witnessed first-hand how difficult it is for injured servicemen to adapt to civilian life and am impressed by the ethos and approach of the Poppy Factory. It was originally started in 1922 when Major George Howson MC, an engineer who served on the Western Front in the First World War, founded the Disabled Society to help disabled ex-Service men and women.

Howson suggested to the British Legion that the Society should make poppies, and the artificial flowers were designed so that someone who had lost the use of a hand could assemble them. Within a few months the factory was providing work and an income for 50 disabled veterans. As demand grew, the premises became too small and in 1925, the Factory moved to the current site in Richmond, Surrey. In the same year the charity changed its name to the British Legion Poppy Factory.

Today the Poppy Factory continues to make the poppies for the Royal Family and the Royal British Legion’s annual Remembrance Day appeal. Since 2007 the Poppy Factory has been placing wounded, injured or sick ex-military personnel into jobs beyond the Factory and all around the UK. It is the only UK charity with the singe minded ambition to help wounded, sick and injured ex-Service men and women find and sustain civilian employment.

I will be covering all costs of competing in the MdS, so you can be sure that every penny you donate goes to the vitally important work of The Poppy Factory.